Business Inflation benign in January SYDNEY: Surprisingly high inflation in December has been unwound by falling prices for clothing and travel in 2014. The TD Securities Melbourne Institute monthly Inflation Gauge increased by 0.1 per cent in January, after a 0.7 per cent rise in December and 0.2 per cent in November. In the year to January, inflation was up 2.5 per cent compared with 2.7 per cent in December. Price pressures eased in January, despite being a seasonally strong period, TD Securities head of AsiaPacific research Annette Beacher said. “After the shock jump in prices over the December quarter, the first taste of January is certainly a benign one as usually January is a seasonally strong one for our Inflation Gauge, rising on average by 0.4 per cent over the last seven years,” Ms Beacher said. “If we exclude the seasonal jump in education fees, utility prices and transport fares, price pressures appeared to start 2014 on a particularly soft note.” Building approvals stronger SYDNEY: Building approvals figures fell for the third straight month in December but economists are confident the housing sector will strengthen this year. Approvals for the construction of new homes fell 2.9 per cent across Australia in December, but over 2013 they were up 21.8 per cent, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. A large rise in September had seen subdued results in October, November and December, but construction was still strengthening, JP Morgan economist Tom Kennedy said. “What we are seeing at the moment is a little bit of payback from that big flow of approvals that we did see in September,” he said. AAP House prices hit another high Melbourne leads the way as capital city home values rise again House prices by the numbers SYDNEY: Home prices have continued to climb in January with Melbourne leading the charge. Capital city home values rose 1.2 per cent last month and 9.8 per cent in the year to January, according to the RP Data Rismark Home Value Index. Prices in Melbourne rose 3.2 per cent in the month and almost 12 per cent in the year to January, while prices in Sydney rose 0.8 per cent in January for a yearly rise of 13.4 per cent. Home values are 4.8 per cent higher than their previous peak in October 2010, the figures show. n Melbourne rose 3.2 per cent to $553,000 n Hobart rose 2 per cent to $340,000 n Sydney rose 0.8 per cent to $660,000 n Canberra rose 0.7 per cent to $530,000 The strong figures were likely to dampen speculation about any possible cash rate cuts from the Reserve Bank of Australia in the medium term, RP Data research director Tim Lawless said. “Together with the higherthan-expected inflation n Brisbane rose 0.7 per cent to $462,000 n Adelaide was flat at $390,000 n Perth fell 1.1 per cent to $525,000 n Darwin fell 1.1 per cent to $530,000 reading and a lower Aussie dollar, the sustained growth in dwelling values is another factor the RBA is likely to consider when deliberating on any movement in the cash rate,” Mr Lawless said. Sydney and Melbourne were the clear drivers of growth, he said, adding the figures showed both capital cities were well advanced in their growth cycle and the exuberant conditions were expected to wind down in 2014 because of increasing affordability constraints and higher levels of housing supply. Perth prices declined 1.1 per cent, as did Darwin, while Adelaide was flat. Eroding rental yields, as dwelling values continued to grow faster than rental rates, could start acting as a disincentive for investors, which would also moderate price growth, Mr Lawless said. AAP JB holding high hopes for future AAP in Brief Country Road bags record net profit PERTH: Fashion retailer Country Road has forecast strong full-year profit growth after notching a record first-half result. The Country Road Group, which also owns Mimco, Trenery and Witchery, and operates in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, said its net profit was $37.95 million in the six months to December 28, up 72 per cent from $22.1 million in the same period in 2012. “We expect the group to deliver further improved results for the remainder of the financial year but at a lower growth rate now that comparative results include Witchery and Mimco in Australasia,” Chief executive Iain Nairn said. Average wage drops among Seek ads BRISBANE: The average annual salary advertised by online jobs site SEEK dropped by more than $3000 last year. The average salary offered to job-seekers was $81,055, down from $84,458 in 2012, but higher than the latest average annual wage figure provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics – $74,000. SEEK HR manager Rebecca Supierz said the drop corresponded with a slowdown in the mining and construction sectors. WorleyParsons wins $92m contract Strong sales: JB Hi-Fi recorded a 10 per cent profit increase for the first half of 2013-14. SYDNEY: JB Hi-Fi has produced another strong profit and is spruiking its future growth potential as it expands into the home appliances market. JB Hi-Fi yesterday announced a 10 per cent increase in profit for the first half of 2013-14 on the back of a near 7 per cent increase in overall sales. That was despite an 8 per cent decline in sales of CDs, DVDs and games, which has traditionally been the company’s main business. The retailer’s hardware division, which includes items such as TVs, game consoles and sound equipment, was the main driver of growth, with sales up 11 per cent. For the full year, JB Hi-Fi expects to make a profit of between $126 million and $129 million, which is up about Not the time for a rate cut CANBERRA: Business groups believe it is too early to call an end to interest rate cuts, but they accept another reduction is unlikely just yet. The Reserve Bank holds its first board meeting of the year today and is expected to keep the cash rate at an all-time low of 2.5 per cent, particularly after last month’s data showed an unexpected jump in annual inflation to a two-year high. But Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry acting chief economist Burchell Wilson said those figures were at odds with an economy that is growing below trend, with a deteriorating labour market and moderate wages. “There is a real risk that (inflation) number is a bit of an anomaly,” he said yesterday. “I think on that basis it’s premature to rule out the need for further rate cuts in 2014.” ACCI’s business expectations survey showed profitability and sales revenue were “very poor” in the December quarter, undermining employment as well as investment, particularly in plant and equipment, which has suffered the longest period of contraction in nearly 20 years. Picture: AAP 10 per cent from last year, with sales up between 6 and 8 per cent. But JB Hi-Fi has its sights set on stronger growth as it carves out a place for itself in the $4.6 billion home appliances market. The company converted 11 stores to the new HOME format during the 2013 calendar year and plans to have converted 50 stores by the end of the 2016 financial year. Saving a struggle for half of Australians SYDNEY: Half of all Australian households are struggling to save money each month while many have less than $5000 saved for an emergency, a survey has found. Households battling to AAP save rose 2 per cent to 51 per cent in the six months to December, according to ME Bank’s biannual Household Financial Comfort Report. The study also found 46 per cent have less than $5000 in savings for an emergency, while 11 per cent are spending more than they earn. A further 5 per cent are using equity in their own home to make ends meet month to month. MELBOURNE: WorleyParsons has won a $92 million contract to perform oil and gas engineering work in the Norwegian North Sea. The hook-up and commissioning contract is with fellow engineers Technip for work on global energy giant Total’s operations at the Martin Linge platform. The main activity will be executed offshore during mid 2016. WorleyParsons was also involved in Norway’s North Sea Ekofisk living quarters platform project operated by ConocoPhillips. AAP Job ads fall, but rate of decline slows AAP SYDNEY: Job advertisements on the internet and in newspapers have fallen again, but the rate of decline is slowing. The total number of job ads fell by 0.3 per cent in January, seasonally adjusted, after a 0.8 per cent fall the month before, the latest ANZ job advertisements survey found. The number of jobs advertised in January was 8.9 per cent lower than the previous January, after a 16.7 per cent fall in the previous year. The Border Watch, Tuesday, February 4, 2014 - 9